PROT 401: Protecting Power Systems for

Engineers

Class Exercise Solution: Bus Protection

Solution 1. Bus Protection Scheme Selection

Application Issue (R) Recommended Scheme
(X) Neutral
(N) Not
Recommended
Fixed-Bus, Single Breaker R % Restrained
Arrangement Differential
 Single Bus/Single Breaker R Advanced %
Differential
R HiZ Differential
X Zone Interlocked
 This is the simplest application
 None of the four schemes are not recommended
 Zone interlocked schemes are listed as neutral
o Typically is not recommended over differential unless other constraints
limit the differential application
Fixed-Bus, Dual Breaker R % Restrained
Arrangement Differential
 Double Bus/Double Breaker R Advanced %
 Breaker and a Half Differential
R HiZ Differential
N Zone Interlocked
 Any of the three differential schemes are recommended
 Zone interlocked schemes are not recommended
o Branch circuit elements are connected to more than one bus
o Branch zone protection cannot determine which bus a fault might be on

PROT 401, Section 18b Copyright © SEL 2013 Page 1 of 10

 Application Issue (R) Recommended Scheme
(X) Neutral
(N) Not
Recommended
Switchable Bus Arrangement N % Restrained
 Double Bus/Single Breaker Differential
R Advanced %
Differential
N HiZ Differential
X Zone Interlocked
 Advanced differential schemes with internal zone switching are recommended
 Percentage restrained and HiZ schemes are not recommended
o External switching of CTs is not recommended
 Zone interlocked schemes are listed as neutral
o Signals can be switched to the correct zone in the logic
Buses With Low Minimum Short- X % Restrained
Circuit Levels Differential
X Advanced %
Differential
R HiZ Differential
R Zone Interlocked
 HiZ schemes are recommended
o Very high sensitivity for ground faults
High immunity from CT saturation for phase faults
 Zone-interlocked schemes are recommended
o Assuming branch circuit protection has adequate sensitivity and security
for both phase and ground faults
 Percentage-restrained and advanced differential are not recommended
o Difficult to balance sensitivity and security with the slope only
Dedicated CTs Available R % Restrained
Differential
R Advanced %
Differential
R HiZ Differential
X Zone Interlocked
 None of the four types of schemes are discouraged
 Zone-interlocked schemes are listed as neutral
o Zone-interlocked schemes share CTs by definition

Page 2 of 10 Copyright © SEL 2013 PROT 401, Section 18b

 Application Issue (R) Recommended Scheme
(X) Neutral
(N) Not
Recommended
CTs Must Be Shared With Other R % Restrained
Protection Differential
R Advanced %
Differential
N HiZ Differential
R Zone Interlocked
 Percentage-restrained and advanced differential schemes are recommended
o Consider zone overlap
 HiZ schemes are not recommended
o Internal faults cause severe CT saturation and high voltage
o Other relays may misoperate
 Zone-interlocked schemes share CTs by definition
CTs With Unmatched Ratios R % Restrained
Differential
R Advanced %
Differential
N HiZ Differential
R Zone Interlocked
 Percentage-restrained and advanced differential schemes are recommended
o Currents can be normalized by tap factors
 Zone-interlocked schemes are recommended
o CTs are sized for branch circuit protection
 HiZ schemes are not recommended
o They can be applied with special connections
o Tapping MR CTs to a common ratio is not recommended
o Advanced relays can be applied to protect buses with many branches
CTs With a Low Accuracy Class X % Restrained
(Voltage Rating) Differential
R Advanced %
Differential
N HiZ Differential
X Zone Interlocked

PROT 401, Section 18b Copyright © SEL 2013 Page 3 of 10

 Application Issue (R) Recommended Scheme
(X) Neutral
(N) Not
Recommended
 Advanced differential schemes are recommended
o External fault detector puts the relay in high security mode to tolerate
CT saturation
 HiZ schemes are not recommended
o The voltage pulses from severely saturated CTs during an internal fault
can be too narrow to sample
o This scheme can have poor dependability
 Percentage-restrained and zone-interlocked schemes are listed as neutral

Problem 2 Solution. High-Impedance Relay Settings

In this exercise, we will calculate settings for a high‐impedance bus protection scheme. This
exercise is based on Appendix A of C37.234, IEEE Guide for Protective Relay Applications to
Power System Buses. See Figure 1 for the bus configuration.

Information for the application:

Table 1. Fault Current Contributions

Maximum Fault Current Contributions Three-Phase Single-Line-to-
Per Circuit Ground
Network Element F-1 2 kA 1.2 kA
Network Element F-2 8 kA 8.8 kA
Network Element F-3 5 kA 3.5 kA
Network Element F-4 5 kA 3.5 kA
Minimum Bus Fault Current 1.8 kA 0.9 kA

Table 2. CT Circuit Characteristics

One Way Lead Resistance From the CT to the Summing 0.4 
Junction (RL)
Stabilizing Resistance in the High-Impedance Relay (RS) 2000 
CT Secondary Winding Resistance (RCT) 0.6 
CT Ratio (CTR) 1200:5 (N = 240)
CT Accuracy Class (VCT) C400
CT Excitation Characteristic See Figure 2
MOV Characteristic See Figure 3

Page 4 of 10 Copyright © SEL 2013 PROT 401, Section 18b

 Figure 1. High-Impedance Bus Protection Application

Figure 2. C400, 1200:5MR CT

PROT 401, Section 18b Copyright © SEL 2013 Page 5 of 10

 Figure 3. MOV Characteristic

Page 6 of 10 Copyright © SEL 2013 PROT 401, Section 18b

 Step 1. Calculate short-circuit levels.
1. Calculate the maximum internal three-phase fault.
I 3 PH  2 kA  8 kA  5 kA  5 kA  20 kA

2. Calculate the maximum external three-phase fault.

I 3 PH  8 kA  5 kA  5 kA  18 kA
(On network element F-1)
3. Calculate the maximum internal single-line-to-ground fault.
I SLG  1.2 kA  8.8 kA  3.5 kA  3.5 kA  17 kA

4. Calculate the maximum external single-line-to-ground fault.

I SLG  8.8 kA  3.5 kA  3.5 kA  15.8 kA
(On network element F-1)
5. Calculate the minimum internal fault.
I 3 PH _ Minimum  1.8 kA
(given)
I SLG _ Minimum  0.9 kA
(given)

Step 2. Calculate a secure voltage element setting, VSR.

An external fault on F‐1 is the worst‐case scenario. Assume CT‐1 saturates completely and
delivers no secondary current. All other CTs perform with no saturation and deliver the full
fault current (IF) reflected into the secondary side. The voltage developed at the differential
relay (VR) equals:
I
VR  F  RCT  RL • n  (1)
N

where

n is 1 for three‐phase faults

n is 2 for single‐line‐to‐ground faults

and
VSR  m • max(VR _ 3 PH , VR _ SLG ) (2)

PROT 401, Section 18b Copyright © SEL 2013 Page 7 of 10

 where

m is the margin factor

VR_3PH is the voltage developed at the differential relay for the maximum external three‐
phase fault

VR_SLG is the voltage developed at the differential relay for the maximum external single‐line‐
to‐ground fault

1. Determine VR_3PH and VR_SLG, applying equation (1).

18000
VR _ 3 PH  (0.6  0.4 •1)  75 V
240

15800
VR _ SLG  (0.6  0.4 • 2)  92 V
240
2. Calculate the secure voltage limit VSR, applying equation (2) and assuming a margin
factor of 2.
VSR  2 • 92V  184 V

Step 3. Calculate a dependable voltage element setting, VD.

The voltage setting should be below 1.0 to 0.5 of the accuracy class voltage to maintain high‐
speed, positive operation for internal faults. The accuracy class voltage is the voltage where the
excitation current is 10 percent of the ratio current. This should not be confused with the knee‐
point voltage. The dependable voltage setting is calculated using the following equation:
VD  m • VCT (3)

where

m is the margin factor

VCT is the CT secondary voltage rating, e.g., 400V for a C400 CT at a full secondary winding
1. Calculate VD, assuming a 0.5 margin factor.
VD  0.5 • 400V  200V

Page 8 of 10 Copyright © SEL 2013 PROT 401, Section 18b

 Step 4. Choose a secure and dependable setting, 87V.
1. Determine a secure and dependable voltage setting. This setting should be above VSR and
below VD.

87V  200 V

Step 5. Calculate a current element setting, 50P.

If the current element (50) is used in the scheme, its pickup setting must be below the minimum
fault current.

I MIN
I PKP  m •
CTR (4)

where

m is the margin factor

1. Calculate the current pickup setting, assuming a margin of 0.5.

900
I PKP  0.5 •  1.8 A
240

Step 6. Calculate sensitivity for internal faults.

The sensitivity of the scheme is limited by the current leakage through the excitation branches
of the CTs and the MOV leakage current. These currents leak around the relay operate path.

The minimum operating current in primary amperes for the bus protection system is estimated
using the equation below:

 87 
I OP   n • I EX  I MOV  V  • CTR
 RS 
(5)
where

The excitation current (IEX) at the voltage setting is read from the CT excitation curve
(Figure 2). Since there are four CTs in parallel, n = 4.

The MOV current, IMOV, at the voltage setting is obtained from the MOV characteristic (Figure
3). The MOV characteristic is given in peak volts and amperes so the quantities must be
converted to rms values using the √2. However, the voltage level is off the chart and
therefore can be neglected.

87V / RS is the burden impedance current at the voltage setting.

PROT 401, Section 18b Copyright © SEL 2013 Page 9 of 10

 1. Given the above information, calculate the minimum operating current in primary
amperes for the bus protection scheme.

 200V 
I OP   4 • 0.04 A  0.0   • 240  62.4 APRIMARY
 2000 

Step 7. Verify that sensitivity is adequate.

1. Check the minimum operate current versus the minimum fault current. Is the sensitivity
of the voltage setting adequate?
62.4 A < 900 A, so the sensitivity is adequate.

Page 10 of 10 Copyright © SEL 2013 PROT 401, Section 18b